(Thanks to NATURAL SOLUTIONS Magazine)

15 million Americans suffer from atopic dermatitis (AD), the most common type of eczema that sports itching, burning, oozing skin. And sadly, conventional treatments do more harm than good.

AD most often begins in childhood–usually in infancy, but adults can develop eczema even after an itch-free childhood. According to the National Eczema Foundation, the condition has telltale symptoms: dry, itchy, scaly skin, cracks behind the ears, and rashes on the cheeks, arms, and legs.

Corticosteroids, the most common conventional treatment, work by suppressing the skin’s natural reactions. They can cause thinning of the skin, infections, stunted growth in children, stretch marks, and more serious problems. “The detox that the skin is trying to express gets suppressed, so it gets driven into a deeper layer of the body, and the next layer in from the skin is the lungs,” says Robin DiPasquale, ND, RH (AHG), chair of the Botanical Medical Department at Bastyr University outside Seattle. “That’s why we see people treated with cortisone cream show up a few years later with asthma.” In fact, approximately 75% of children with AD develop asthma or hayfever later on.

Instead of stifling the body’s responses, DiPasquale tackles the problem at its source, the immune system, using four natural approaches:

1. Identify the cause. First, DiPasquale searches for an environmental or nutritional trigger. “The gut makes up 60% of our immune system,” she says. “When we eat food that we don’t digest or assimilate properly, the immune system creates an inflammation response.” For people predisposed to AD, that inflammation shows up in the skin. The most common food causes of AD: eggs, milk, peanuts, wheat, and soy. Common environmental triggers: harsh laundry detergents and cleaning products.

2. Treat (don’t suppress) the condition. DiPasquale recommends gentle topical treatments, such as washes or water-based creams that contain calendula and yarrow. These herbs relieve itching without suppressing the immune system’s processes. Oatmeal baths also soothe outbreaks. To prevent a drain clog, put the oats in a sock and run water through it.

3. Improve nutrition. First, cut out inflammation-causing fried and processed foods, as well as all foods that trigger an allergic response. Eat whole, unprocessed foods. Then, DiPasquale suggests, add omega-3s DHA and EPA (found in fish oil) to reduce inflammation, as well as probiotics to balance the gut flora and improve digestion. (American Health liquid probiotics are safe enough for children and adults.)

4. Boost the immune system. DiPasquale recommends astragalus to modulate the immune system; meadowsweet and poppy to combat inflammation; California poppy to calm the nervous system; and rosemary to move the blood. With adults, for whom AD often signals the liver’s inability to eliminate toxins, she uses liver-supporting burdock, yellow dock, red root, poke root, figwort, and greater celandine. (Be sure to work with a well-trained herbalist.)

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